Paytm Mall to invest $30 mn in rolling out PoS devices across stores this year

SoftBank-backed Paytm Mall plans to invest USD 30 million in the next one year to develop and roll out connected Point of Sale (PoS) solutions across over one lakh retail stores. This will assist merchants in managing their businesses, according to a top executive of the company.

"USD 30 million is what we have earmarked for the PoS solutions this financial year. Basically, it will go in training, and building the solution," Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, Paytm Mall told Moneycontrol.

The PoS devices will help shopkeepers maintain a real-time inventory database and track sales.

The device will also enable retailers to manage their store inventory on the cloud with complete visibility on the available or required stock, view their sales and manage pending orders etc.

According to Sinha, the implementation of these devices will help an average store increase its gross sales by 25-30 percent across categories in a year's time.

The move further strengthens Paytm Mall's claims of being an omnichannel platform. The company claims that instead of being a typical e-commerce firm it is more of a technology provider to shopkeepers.

Paytm Mall on Wednesday also announced a partnership under which Taiwanese PC and smartphone maker ASUS will implement this connected PoS solution at ASUS retail stores.

This will subsequently be expanded to other brands and retail stores.

Asus also launched Vivobook X507 laptop on Paytm's platform as part of the announcement.

The ASUS X507 series will be available at a starting price of Rs 21,990.

"In our country, up to 80 percent of offline retail stores do not have the necessary technology to manage their inventory and are not equipped to join the online commerce revolution. Our O2O model is deeply in sync with what the offline shopkeepers need and hence we are offering a unified solution, Paytm Mall PoS. They can now cater to walk-in customers conveniently and can also fulfill online orders locally through this connected PoS system. In the first phase, we are enabling ASUS branded offline stores and will soon be expanding further," said Sinha.